SFG was started by Lyman and Jeanne Smith in 1972. It began as a family farm and became a family farm corporation. It was one of the first of its type in Iowa. They had four children of which two stayed on the farm to follow the ideas of their parents. They were John and Max Smith. As the years passed John managed the farm operation and raised hogs while Max hauled the farms grain and sprayed crops. Lyman managed the business side of the operation and pursued a grain dealers license and a commercial spray license.
As the years passed Max wanted to expand the commercial side of SFG. In 1979 they purchased a large terragator agriculture sprayer. It was the first of its kind with large flotation tires. The business grew rapidly and a large fertilizer plant was built at the Knoxville location. It 1993 the Pleasantville location was acquired from Farm and Town Industries. The business continued to grow as the Pleasantville location added NH3 and fertilizer to our business. Storage was added for grain and fertilizer at both locations. In 1999 in was decided to make a major expansion at the Knoxville location and double the grain storage capacity and quadruple the grain drying capacity. Lyman passed away in early January of 2000 and never got to see the expansions he had devoted his life too. The Smith family continued the family operation and continued to grow. The De-Icing Division of SFG was formed in 2002. In 2003 the largest terragator ever built in North America was purchased by SFG to apply a State licensed product called Smith Super Grow. It supports a 3,000 gallon tank with an 85 foot spray boom. In 2006 SFG acquired the Albia location from Roemerman Feed and Grain. In 2007 SFG purchased the Centerville location from CB Ag. These two locations are located in prime livestock country and both support strong feed businesses. Major work remodeling and updating of equipment has been done at both locations. Today in 2009 SFG employs a staff of more than 80 people with specialties in Agronomy, Nutrition, and De-Icing products. Knoxville is the main office located 4 miles SE of town. John Smith is manager of the Smith farming operation while Max Smith and his wife Sharon are the general managers of company business.
SFG has 13 semis and 12 fertilizer and chemical sprayers. We have a host of smaller trucks and pickups to support our customers. Our fertilizer business spans more than a dozen counties and our De-Icing business covers five states. We have three distribution sites for De-Icing products in two states. Our business has been under constant expansion for many years. It is our companies plan to be diversified as much as possible and build on our customer base.